Mohamed Iqbal Mahmed was part of a circle of friendly businessmen who helped
Gideon Gono to keep Zimbabwe afloat amid the wreckage of its economy.

Born in Zambia in 1960, when it was the British colony of Northern Rhodesia, Mr Mahmed is a founder, director and part-owner of Ravenscourt Corporation. His business interests inZimbabwe range from stockbroking to travel. A chartered accountant, he appears punctually on the course of the Royal Harare Golf Club on Wednesday mornings.

He is married to Rezana Ebrahim, whose father, Ahmed, was a notably independent judge on the bench of Zimbabwe's Supreme Court until being hounded into retirement by the regime in 2003.

Mr Gono told The Daily Telegraph that his dealings with Mr Mahmed began in 1995 "when he was my stockbroker and family investment adviser".

When Zimbabwe suffered hyperinflation and a desperate shortage of hard currency, Mr Mahmed's companies, along with "other private sector players of the same reliable mould", became "more and more strategic players in the Zimbabwe economy, undertaking special government approved assignments", added Mr Gono. These arrangements were not always announced publicly. "No government under siege announced who its strategic partners are," explained Mr Gono. Various companies, including Ravenscourt, were "central to Zimbabwe's survival whenever it was thought that Zimbabwe was on its knees".

After petrol shortages paralysed the country, Ravenscourt entered into a joint venture with Total Zimbabwe to arrange fuel supplies. Mr Mahmed told The Daily Telegraph that Ravenscourt, together with the Independent Petroleum Group of Kuwait, "imported 49 million litres of fuel for the Reserve Bank during 2006 and 2007", accounting for about 5 per cent of Zimbabwe's total consumption.

Ravenscourt's letterhead claims an office in London. This address turns out to be Artillery Mansions, a large Victorian residential block in London SW1 containing scores of flats. None appear to be registered in Mr Mahmed's name, nor that of Ravenscourt, according to the Land Registry. There is no listing for Ravenscourt at Companies House.